Working with Events to build a Destination Brand Identity -the DMO Perspective Jessica Johansson Graduate Business School Tourism and Hospitality Management Master Thesis No. 2007:33 Supervisor: Mia Larson Using events to build a destination brand identity - the DMO perspective _________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT The tourism industry is considered one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world. To successfully compete in this increasingly competitive environment, it is a relatively new trend among destination marketing organisations (DMOs) to turn their destination into a brand. At the core of the brand lies the identity, which refers to what a brand stands for, what gives it meaning, and what makes it unique. The purpose of this study is to examine how DMOs are working to establish a destination brand identity, and how events are used strategically in the process. Interviews have been undertaken with DMOs of various sizes, locations and characteristics. Findings indicate that it is a rather recent, however common practice, among the DMOs to strategically work with destination branding and to carefully consider the brand identity. How this is done varies between the studied destinations, and although they all regard events as main contributors of their tourism development; the strategic thinking is in this matter less obvious. The event brand is in some of the cases not intentionally corresponding with the identity of the destination brand. Key Words: Destination Branding, Brand Identity, Destination Brand Identity, Events. 1 Using events to build a destination brand identity - the DMO perspective _________________________________________________________________________ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing this thesis has been a challenging journey, much due to the effort of working full-time at the same time. It has also been a great learning process and experience, and several people have been contributing during this time, some of which I would now like to show appreciation. First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the participating organisations and managers who took time out of their busy work-lives to help me with this study. Your enthusiasm, helpfulness and valuable information has made the process of writing this thesis both exciting and educating. I also like to thank my supervisor Mia Larson, Phd, who has pushed me towards constant improvements and who has provided valuable guidance and constructive criticism along the way. A big thank you to Kristina Christofferson, my manager at work, for choosing to hire me in the middle of the thesis period, and for allowing time out of work for interviews and meetings. Thanks also to my thesis group members Helene and Farah, for suggestions, support and uplifting conversations at our thesis meetings and during tough periods. Lastly, I would like to thank my family and friends for supporting me this whole time. Your patience and understanding has truly been helpful. A special thank you to Anders, for endless encouragement and love. 2 Using events to build a destination brand identity - the DMO perspective _________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................................... 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................................. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................................... 3 LIST OF FIGURES & TABLES ......................................................................................................................... 5 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 6 1.1 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................... 7 1.2 PROBLEM DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................................. 9 1.3 PROBLEM DEFINITION AND PURPOSE ............................................................................................................ 9 1.4 CHAPTER OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................... 10 2 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 RESEARCH APPROACH ................................................................................................................................ 11 2.1.1 Research Method ................................................................................................................................ 11 2.1.2 Research Design ................................................................................................................................. 11 2.2 DATA COLLECTION ..................................................................................................................................... 12 2.2.1 Primary and Secondary data sources ................................................................................................. 12 2.2.2 Multiple Case Studies ......................................................................................................................... 12 2.2.3 Participants in the study ..................................................................................................................... 13 2.2.4 Interview Method ................................................................................................................................ 14 2.3 DATA PROCESSING ...................................................................................................................................... 15 2.4 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS ............................................................................................................................. 15 2.4.1 Errors ................................................................................................................................................. 15 2.4.2 Validity and Reliability ....................................................................................................................... 15 3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ................................................................................................................. 17 3.1 THE NOTION OF BRANDING ......................................................................................................................... 17 3.2 BRAND IDENTITY ........................................................................................................................................ 19 3.2.1 The Identity concept ............................................................................................................................ 19 3.2.2 The importance of understanding Brand Identity ............................................................................... 20 3.2.3 Core and Extended Identity ................................................................................................................ 20 3.2.4 The Brand Pyramid ............................................................................................................................ 21 3.3 THE SIX FACETS OF BRAND IDENTITY ......................................................................................................... 22 3.3.1 Physique ............................................................................................................................................. 23 3.3.2 Personality .......................................................................................................................................... 23 3.3.3 Culture ................................................................................................................................................ 24 3.3.4 Relationship ........................................................................................................................................ 25 3.4 SOURCES OF IDENTITY ................................................................................................................................ 25 3.4.1 Products .............................................................................................................................................. 26 3.4.2 Brand characters and symbols (slogans and logos) ........................................................................... 26 3.4.3 Geographical and Historical roots ..................................................................................................... 27 3.4.4 Brand Essence .................................................................................................................................... 27 3.5 EVENT TOURISM ......................................................................................................................................... 29 3.5.1 Typology of Events.............................................................................................................................. 29 3.5.2 Tourism and Economic